1.21.2019

Checking in from the Big Island where we opened up the series with a quick downhill race at the homestead.

The conditions were perfect at the hill; choke sun, small kine clouds, and a nice breeze to keep it cool. It was a mellow day, with only a few cars coming through the whole time. The initial course was patchy at best, and really quite scary, the riders decided to move further down the hill. They selected the course, spotters were set up and the practice runs got under way. The riders took a few runs on the now closed course testing the speeds and working up some course knowledge. Cameras were now in place, spotters had their signals dialed and the boys were ready to race.

The course was epic! They took it full speed wobbling through the bacon right, on the edge of grip banking left and then catching even more speed before drifting through the final left corner to the finish. It was anybody’s game, but after a few rounds of intense, fun racing, Zach emerged with the victory.

It was a rad time for everyone, for the race and all the skating that commenced after. We’re stoked and thankful that the event was a success! We are looking forward to the next event of the series in Maui! We’ll see you all next weekend!

Aloha and a hui hou!

1st- Zach Newman

2nd- Brian McOuat

3rd- Dakota Camp

4th- Dalton Iwabuchi

Please enjoy this video put together by the homie Easten Tanimoto! @tanimotofoto

12.28.2018

It’s time once again to get stoked on the winter months! The wheels are starting to turn on the Hawai’i Winter Outlaw Series 2018-2019!! Three events, Three Islands, wrapped up with one Grand Finale at the FOSAL 11! Points are accumulated in each of the events, who shall be crowned the champ in the HWOS 2018-2019 series?! Last year we had a super close competition with 1st and 2nd place ending the series only 3 POINTS APART!!

[Results of the 2017-2018 HWOS]

This year is gearing up to be an exciting winter of racing. The boys on the Big Island will be throwing the series opener race with a 1v1 showdown through a fast sweepy course with a big left drift right before the finish. This is a brand new course that we have not raced here on the Big Island so get stoked, it’s going to be a fun one!

The second event of the series will be The Maui Challenge. We will be competing 1v1 on a single lane dream course with speed, grip and plenty of slip. All you could ever ask for in a downhill race course. In past years Maui has proved to be the battle ground with many people showing up from out of state and even out of country. Competition is sure to be fierce! You don’t want to miss the sessions happening during this event!

The third and final race of the series will take place in O’ahu with a 1v1 battle down a speedy mountain littered with obstacles. This race will take skill in a variety of skateboarding disciplines. Be sure to hone your skills for this battle on the boardercross! It’ll no easy bomb to the bottom!

As the racers compete in the three race events they will earn points based on their placement in the race. Each race is worth a whopping 185 points for 1st, with 2nd earning 170, and each place thereafter earing 5 points less (eg. 3rd = 165, 4th = 160, 5th =155 and so on). Its crucial to make it to each and every event in order to be considered for a podium position at the HWOS!

Don’t miss out on this exciting Winter of downhill skateboarding! January is coming up quick, so get your tickets, get your training wheels on and go for a rip! We’ll see YOUfor the HWOS Big Island opener!! Cheehhooo and keep them wheels turning!

3.22.2018

The 2017 - 2018 Hawaii Winter Outlaw Series has completed another successful season. We started off in December over on the Big Island, next up was the Maui Challenge in January, then the 10th annual Festival of Sugar and Love on Oahu finished it off in February... and what an epic event it was to finish off the series.

Hawaii's top downhill skateboarders traveled to the gathering isle to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the race/slide jam combo that has been a staple in the Hawaii downhill skateboard community for a decade now. We all met up at the loop on a sunny Saturday morning to get signed up for the event an get set up on our hillside campsite.

Once everyone arrived and signed up, we drew heats and made a short drive over to the race hill... The Scorcher. If you haven't seen or herd of this course, its short and INTENSE. The whole course comes in at just under a mile. STEEP, three hairpins, W concave in the road, complete with cracks, glass and gravel lining the whole thing. Top speed is about 35-40 mph but with the conditions of the road it feels closer to 50!

After about an hour of practice runs, we got straight into racing. 1 on 1 all the way to the finals. Round 1 is on and everyone is slaying the road. I think this event has been around for so long that everyone forgot how bad the road is and just raced it like its butter.

Once the race started it moved along smooth and quick.

After several rounds we were down to our final 4 racers. Sterling Balles vs Kawai Marks and 3x repeat Scorcher winner, Dante Alston vs Johnathan Valenzuela. In the first heat Kawai takes the lead from the start and holds a clean line the whole way making it down in first to advance to the finals.

The next heat was pretty hectic! John got the lead on Dante from the start, but couldn't get much of a gap. Coming into the fast turn they were almost touching from when they threw their drifts to when they exited the corner. Coming into the last corner John holds the lead but ends up crashing on the exit of the corner, which also makes Dante go down. John gets up and runs across the finish, Dante jumps on his board and rolls across the finish, advancing him on to the finals.

First up of the final rounds is the Consi.

Sterling vs Johnathan.

John takes the lead off the start, Sterling closely following behind. They both come down the steep straight avoiding all hazards and drift clean into the fast right. Both skaters take clean lines and exit fast. John holds a solid lead into the last corner and make it through in front for the win.

Now the Finals.

Kawai vs Dante.

If Kawai wins this heat, not only is he the Scorcher champ... but also the overall Hawaii Winter Outlaw Series season champion.

3, 2, 1 ... GO!

Kawai takes off in front while Dante seems to almost seems to want to fall into second. Both skaters hold their tucks coming into the fast right. Kawai drifts first, forcing Dante to slide right away. They were CLOSE but Dante just held off from bumping Kawai. His hand was almost over Kawai's board during the drift! They both come out looking clean holding speed into the next straight. Kawai sets up for the left and dives to the inside line while Dante does a squat drift to line up for an outside line. Just as they approach the exit leading into the finish line Kawai's line forces him to scrub a little speed while Dante is fully gripped. Once they straighten out to tuck that last few feet to the finish Dante makes a pass to take his fourth Scorcher win in a row!

Now that the race is done, we grab food and camping supplies then head back to our hill side campsite for the night.

We got settled. Set up some turn tables, sounds and a BBQ grill then got to the race and overall series results. Every skater who showed up at the race walked away with a handful of schwag thanks to our AWESOME supporters.

Following the awards we kept the stoke going all night with some music, tasty grinds and positive vibes.

The next morning we all woke up bright and early in our tents, grabbed some breakfast and got to the slide jam!

Like last year, we passed out checklist's with a TON of things to try to accomplish on your skateboard throughout 4 hours. This allows riders to get as nuts or as mellow as they want during the jam, but almost everyone was skating non stop.

When the skating slowed down and everyone seemed content, we collected the checklists and added up the points. Taking home the win of the 10 year of FOSAL, all the way from Portland is Casey Morrow, who got almost 100 points more than the rest of the riders!

We couldn't have asked for a better weekend to finish off another season of the Hawaii Winter Outlaw Series.

I want to thank every skater and supporter who have ever had a hand in the Hawaii Winter Outlaw Series and The Festival of Sugar and Love over all of these years. A decade of this event is a HUGE accomplishment and it couldn't have happened without you.